For those of you who have been enjoying Johnny Yong Bosch as your Lelouch of choice, we have an exciting announcement for you! Johnny's own band, Eyeshine has officially made their debut on Crunchyroll! You can find their music videos and mini-documentary under the "Pop" tab in the shows section, or simply go to www.crunchyroll.com/eyeshine.

Formed in 2004 by front man Johnny Yong Bosch and Maurice Salmin, Eyeshine first found success in 2006 with a unique blend of pop punk and post grunge called Edge Rock. The band gained a modest audience with its debut EP, "How About That" and their first full length album, "Red Stripes White Lights" but it was their sophomore effort, "My Paper Kingdom" that officially opened the flood gates in 2009. MPK featured their award winning song, "ALONE," whose honest and simple lyrics made a connection to a steadily growing fan base. The band has continued to self produced 6 more albums: "Tone Of Echoes" (features the Elfenworks Foundation sponsored song "Hope Is So Far Away"), "Afterglow" (acoustic album), "Sonosis" (instrumental album), "Sansvox" (karaoke album), "XMAS" (Christmas album), and their latest album "Revolution Airwaves."

Eyeshine won the worldwide Ford sponsored competition "Gimme The Gig II" in May 2012. They recorded a single and filmed a music video with the Legendary Don Was (President of Blue Note Records and 7 time Grammy Award winning Producer - Rolling Stones, Elton John, John Mayer, etc) and Krish Sharma (Producer/Engineer - The Rolling Stones, Counting Crows, Hilary Duff, Jesse McCartney, etc) out of the "Ford Focus Studio." Which is a Mobile Studio that was built into a Ford Focus by "Mad" Mike Martin (Pimp My Ride). KTLA (West Coast News Stations affiliated with The CW TV Network), filmed and aired the one-hour special on west coast television (KTLA, KTVU, and KICU).

If that isn't enough to get you excited, then how about a message from the 99th Emperor of Britannia himself!

Just in case you haven't heard of this juggernaut of a franchise, here's what you need to know: A collaboration between manga-ka superstars CLAMP and animation studio Sunrise of Gundam fame, Code Geass featured an all-star cast and slick animation with giant robot battles and teenagers and school uniforms. Spanning 2 seasons, several OVA, multiple manga series, and spawning a truckload of merchandise that is still being churned out to this day, it's probably safe to say that Code Geass is one of the most popular anime that has been created in the last few years.

Synopsis:

The story takes place in an alternate universe in which the empire of Britannia has conquered pretty much the majority of the known world (save for the EU and China), including Japan. Now under Britannian rule, the Japanese have lost not only their country, but their identity as well, being reclassified as "Elevens", due to the renaming of Japan to Area 11, and are treated like second-class citizens. Advanced technology in the form of "Knightmare Frames", giant mechs that are used in combat, gave Britannia the upper hand and allowed them to easily conquer multiple countries, expanding their empire. However, there are those who oppose Britannia, and will do anything to win back Japan's freedom, including a young man named Lelouch. He is granted a power called "Geass" by an mysterious girl he inadvertently saves one day, and acquires the ability to command anyone to do his bidding, as long as he makes eye contact while giving the order. A brilliant strategist and armed with this "Power of the Gods", he uses his Geass to his advantage as he rebels the Britannian empire and extracts his revenge against them.

For those of you who prefer to not have to read subtitles, Code Geass is one of those titles that Crunchyroll offers in both subbed AND dubbed versions, so if you would rather Johnny Yong Bosch voice Lelouch instead of Jun Fukuyama, you're free to choose.

Review:

Spoiler Alert! Click to show or hide

“ALL HAIL BRITANNIA! ALL HAIL LELOUCH!” If neither of these declarations sounds appealing to you, believe me when I say that by the end of Code Geass, at the very least, you will understand their sentiments. Set in an alternate future where the empire of Britannia rules a third of the world, including the former country of Japan (now called Area 11), this is one of the few series that really has it all—school setting, intellectual drama, giant mech fights—and manages to execute them right.

To be sure, Code Geass was a high-profile series from the start—a collaboration with Sunrise Studios (best known for their Gundam series) and famed manga artists CLAMP, and you've already got the makings of something incredible. Add in an all-star voice cast (Jun Fukuyama, Takehiro Sakurai, Yukana) and you almost certainly can't go wrong. For starters, this anime looks amazing—some people may be off-put by CLAMP's signature lanky, super skinny character designs, but you can't deny that about 90% of the cast is comprised of beautiful boys and girls. (Actually, make that about 99%). The color pallet is incredibly vibrant, with a rainbow of colors despite the serious and political nature of the show at times. The mech designs themselves are impressive as well, with a slightly more organic feel than Gundams but not actually resembling humans quite yet. The animation is very fluid, even during the fight scenes, which, unlike some other series, actually leave you wishing they went on longer.

Of course, there are pretty anime abound out there, but what Code Geass really has going for it is the fact that almost all the characters are able to grow and carry themselves in the sometimes funny, often serious, and always dramatic plot. All of the leads are instantly likable, not necessarily in the sense that they were a favorite character, but that they all had a history and reason for doing the things they did. Nearly every single one of them intrigued me and I genuinely wanted to find out more about all of them; even the supporting cast and more minor characters were executed incredibly well. (In fact, it might just surprise you at who you're cheering for by the end). Lelouch may seem like a spectacularly cold-hearted bastard whose devotion to his younger sister Nunally is beyond obsessive, but he pulls it off so fabulously that you can't help but applaud him for it. Similarly, Suzaku is also much more complex than his outward 'white knight' demeanor may suggest, and some of the best moments in this show are when the two are squaring off not in a physical battle, but in a battle of the mind. Even the villains don't always act like true villains, and by the end of the show's many twists and turns, you may find yourself questioning just who’s really fighting for the greater good. Director Goro Taniguchi is also a mad genius, not just for being able to successfully build the tension and drama in scenes, but also knowing how to pace this story—he cuts off episodes at just the right moments, so you're always left hanging and wanting to know more immediately. Despite the high energy of the plot, the series didn’t feel rushed, and just when tensions are getting too high, it either pauses at the inevitably fluffy “school-life” episodes or just continues marching forward with an explosion that is akin to getting whiplash.

With an all-star cast, you expect an all-star performance, and Code Geass is no exception; Jun Fukuyama and Takehiro Sakurai lead as Lelouch and Suzaku, respectively, and despite being (purposely) typecast against their usual styles, they really manage to outdo themselves. During the antagonistic confrontations between the two, the anger and bitterness literally feels like it’s oozing out of their every pore, to the point that it hurts. Yukana is simply the essence of C.C., uncaring and emotionless, while Ami Koshimizu brings out the spirited and fiery force of Kallen. The soundtrack is a mix of grandiose orchestrations and jazzy numbers during fight scenes, which add to the atmosphere of flair and aristocracy. Openings and endings are also something you want to watch at least once, if not for the art direction then at the very least for the amazing songs.

It is rather inconceivable at times how a series that tries to cram so many different elements and tries to cater to every single audience could succeed so well. There are a few less-than-stellar aspects, namely the plot getting rather confusing and too-political at times, but the fabulous parts are just so fabulous that one can overlook those missteps—I don't care that I can't remember why/how Lelouch manages to defeat the Chinese Federation in one stroke so long as I can see him preening himself about it later on. The characters are what’s at the heart of this roller coaster ride, and I sincerely enjoyed watching each and every one of them getting their screen time. So whether you love the high-stakes robot battles, or the mental chess matches they play, or heck, if you just want to see lots of pretty boys and girls (with fan service for both sides), do yourself a favor, and watch this series.

My only regret I have for this series is not watching it sooner, but with the new Akito of the Exiled OVAs coming out, the fandom has been getting a revival boost, both in terms of merchandise and content. If you’ve always thought about watching the show, there’s no better time than now to jump on the Code Geass bandwagon!

We will be having special features focusing on Code Geass this month, so start up the discussions and feel free to share with everyone your thoughts on this amazing series!

When I first saw the show (I was the magic number of 8 years old) I just fell for it as the BEST anime ever. But now that I'm older X3 I saw this thing called Code MENT. And now whenever I look at the regular show, all I see is the abridged series so it kinda ruined it for me...Still I love it and I might die knowing this is all gunna happen!!

I don't understand how you can give up on a show like this. The plot is absolutely rivetting. It's by far one of the best written shows I have ever seen. Two minutes is NOT enough to determine whether it's worth a go or not.

One of my favorites. It just feels so organic. Everything and everyone is constantly changing, adapting, growing, and changing sides, and it's fascinating to watch everything unfold. Some of the plot twists had me speechless. While I don't agree with some of the characters' actions, I know why they chose what they did and understand them. It also had great gender equality. In most war/battle anime, it's either all men or all women and a few badasses of one gender. But Code Geass has its fair share of badasses of both sexes.
It does have some faults though. Some of the shifts from serious battles to school wackiness were bumpy and felt out of place. Towards the end of the second season, a lot of characters ended up with some heavy plot armor.
But it really is a great anime that anyone should watch.

First of all I think this is a great idea. However, I believe selecting a title that is entirely represented on CR would be better for both discussion and getting people to check out the anime (without leaving CR to finish watching the series!) As for Code Geass, I have the DVDs and have seen both the subbed and dubbed versions and I like the subbed acting better. The Clamp designs, art and animation are top shelf! This is a hard series to discuss without treading into spoilers.